Full Circle

by Christopher Nuttall

  Maybe someone needs to open the lock for him, she thought. It seemed unlikely – the whole plan could have failed, leaving the Witch-King trapped forever – but she had to admit it was a possibility. Or is he reluctant to emerge into a hostile population?

  “I’ve taken the liberty of assembling the magicians in the lower ballroom,” Appleton said, when Sacharissa formally brought the dinner to an end. “Do you wish to start teaching them now?”

  “Yes,” Elaine said, rising. “Sarah?”

  “We’re coming,” Sarah said. “We can use the spells now, can’t we?”

  “If the dragons arrive, give them your best shot,” Elaine said, firmly. She looked at Appleton, who was eying Sarah with undisguised curiosity. It wasn’t hard to realise that he was wondering why a young magician would join the Levellers. “Do you have any magicians who are used to working as a pair?”

  “Four,” Appleton said. “Do you want them to meet with you separately?”

  “Yes, please,” Elaine said. “I need to teach them how to deal with a ritual.”

  The ballroom was larger than she’d been dreading, crammed with fifty magicians who looked askance at her and her companions. Johan sat to the rear as Elaine briefly explained her spells, demonstrated a couple to show how they worked, then watched as Brian, Sarah and the others started to teach the spells. Brian, despite his earlier complaining, was a natural teacher, she decided; he had more success with his students than did anyone else.

  “He’s good at appearing confident,” Johan said, when she explained it to him. “It helps them believe his words.”

  Elaine nodded, then allowed Appleton to lead her into the next room. Four magicians sat there, waiting for her. Two of them were elderly women; the other two were young men, who sat too close together to be anything but lovers. They’d have to be, Elaine knew; it wasn’t easy to work together and it required a considerable degree of trust and acceptance that was rarely found outside a relationship. In some ways, they were bonded just as closely as Johan and herself.

  But they set out to form a bond, she thought, as she introduced herself. No one would make a fuss about them!

  “The Emperor has succeeded in concentrating the magic of countless magicians, then redirecting it to a single purpose,” she said, pushing the thought aside. “This ritual is dangerous because it kills the caster, making it hard for them to do more than very basic tasks. If the reports from Falcone’s Nest are accurate, the causeway didn’t have any way to control the water or let it flow normally, ensuring its eventual destruction.”

  “Stupid design,” one of the men commented.

  “Indeed,” Elaine said. “However, even getting as far as they did was extremely lucky. A single enemy sorcerer could have disrupted the entire spell.”

  “Causing a backlash,” one of the elderly women said. Her voice was warm, but there was an edge in it that bothered Elaine. “That’s what you want us to do.”

  “Yes,” Elaine said. “I want to mess up the ritual before the spell can take shape.”

  She outlined the spells she wanted to use, then went through them with the four magicians while Johan watched from behind. They were quick learners; the elderly women, in particular, were well used to the concept of conserving their power. Elaine wondered, absently, just why they’d stayed in Ida – it wasn’t as if anyone would disapprove of them – but knew she didn’t dare ask. She didn’t have time for an argument.

  “Good work, young lady,” they twittered, when she’d finished. They seemed to speak in unison half the time, as if they were a single mind in two bodies. “We can use this, if necessary. Go get some rest.”

  Elaine smiled, then left the room. Johan looked relieved as they made their way back to their bedroom, although she could sense a strange mixture of apprehension and fear filtering through his thoughts. He knew the enemy was unlikely to give them much time – if any – before launching an attack. They could die tomorrow.

  She kissed him as soon as the door was closed, then pushed him towards the bed. Johan kissed her in return, his arms roaming over her back and down towards her rear. Sex would drive away their fears …

  … But they came back afterwards, as they lay together on the bed. They could die tomorrow and the Witch-King could rise, unimpeded …

  It was a long time before she could sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Charity felt unclean as she followed the Emperor out of the inn, even though she’d washed herself thoroughly after manually cleaning the floor of every last stain of blood. The oath – the damned oath – had kept her focused on the task, forcing her to keep going even though the innkeeper’s daughter had offered to take over. It had been hours before she’d been able to convince herself she was done, then go to her bedroom and scrub herself clean. Even so, she felt as if there was blood on her hands.

  I could have closed the loophole, she thought. The cold air gripped her as soon as she left the building; she crossed her arms under her breasts to keep from shivering. I could have made the orders so specific they had to be obeyed.

  The Emperor ignored her shivering as he walked through the gates and reviewed his troops, standing to attention as best they could. Great fires were burning everywhere, warming the air; the men, wearing armour and furs, looked grimly determined to fight to the last for their Emperor. Charity had no idea if the Queen of Ida was scared, but she knew damn well that she was scared. The human wolves looking at her were only constrained by the certainty that she belonged to the Emperor. He’d issued strict orders against looting or rape in World’s Gate and he’d still had to hang a number of men for disobeying his commands.

  I suppose that’s what you get if you encourage them to commit atrocities, she thought, as the Emperor turned to peer towards Ida. You get men who are incapable of holding their baser impulses in check.

  She sucked in her breath as she looked towards Ida. The mountain kingdom was barely visible in the clouds, the grey buildings blending into the rock until she wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began. She couldn’t help feeling dizzy as her eyes picked out the road, slowly making its way up towards Ida. It looked too thin to be safe; there were no barriers between the narrow road and a plunge to certain death. A gust of wind would be enough to send a carriage plummeting off the edge and into its grave. The Emperor didn’t seem intimidated, though; he merely lifted his hand and a flight of dragons rose into the air, their riders lifting their swords in salute.

  “Your Supremacy,” General Vetch said. Charity turned to see him walking towards them, carrying a sword in one hand. “Your forces stand ready to attack.”

  The Emperor smiled. “Then let the attack begin!”

  ***

  Johan could feel Elaine’s fear as they hurried through breakfast, then met Dread and followed him out of the castle, down towards the walls. The stones felt reassuringly solid to the touch, but Elaine was terrifyingly aware of just how easy it would be for the Emperor’s magic to break them. Her fear was infecting Johan’s own thoughts, he knew, as he scrambled onto the wall; he tried to remember the previous night instead, recalling just what they’d done together. He felt sore in delicate places and she didn’t feel much better.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, as they peered out over the battlements. The walls plunged down for hundreds of metres, vanishing somewhere in the mists. He wouldn’t have placed money on anything, even a dragon, surviving such a fall. “They’re not going to winkle us out of here.”

  “They’re already trying,” Elaine said. She had her eyes closed as she reached out with her magic, tasting the air. “The dragons are on their way.”

  Johan frowned, then stared as the first dragon broke through the clouds and came into view. He’d seen them wheeling over the Golden City – a pang in his chest reminded him that they’d killed Inquisitor Cass – but it was the first time he’d seen them at close range. They were stunning; monstrous beasts, covered in green, gold and red scales, breathing fire as they swooped
over the city. He couldn’t help but feel a stab of envy as he saw the riders, even though he knew the price Deferens had paid to bring the dragons into the world. They could fly high over the world, so high that none of the magicians and kings and merchants mattered any longer.

  “Hold the line,” Colonel Tarpon shouted, loudly. “There’s nowhere to go, lads, so you may as well stand your ground.”

  The lead dragon roared, its neck spinning madly like a wild thing and leaving a coil of fire in the air. Johan peered at the riders, wondering if Charity or Deferens was among them, but they all looked to be male and young. The other dragons echoed it, breathing more plumes of fire into the air. Johan wondered just what they were doing – they could have attacked by now – and then frowned as he saw the troops advancing up the road from World’s Gate. The dragons were trying to distract them.

  “Time’s up,” Elaine breathed, as the dragons flocked together and lanced towards the walls, breathing out powerful streams of flame. She raised her voice, then the wand she’d picked up from Appleton. “Now!”

  Johan braced himself as she cast the spell, just as the dragons washed fire over the stone walls and buildings beyond. He grabbed hold of her, calling on his power to shield them both, as her spell struck the lead dragon. For a horrific moment, he thought it had failed … and then green light flared around the creature, attacking the magic holding it in the air. The rider let out a scream of panic as the dragon flipped over and plunged down, hitting the wall and then sliding over the edge to certain death. Johan hoped, in a moment of bitter vindictiveness, that the rider had fallen with the beast.

  “You got it,” he said, as his power faded.

  “Good,” Elaine said. “What about the others?”

  Johan looked around. The walls were scorched, but intact; the buildings looked to have survived the flames, although he could see several small fires where something more flammable than stone had been caught by the dragons. A dead dragon was stuck on top of the wall, while two more had fallen in the city itself. One of the riders looked to have landed on his head and died; the others had been hauled off their mounts and beaten half to death before superior officers had intervened and dragged the captives to the cells. They’d be interrogated, later, on just what the Emperor had in mind.

  “I think we surprised them,” he said. The remaining dragons had veered back, their riders staring in disbelief at the remains of their fellows. “They weren’t expecting to lose.”

  Elaine smiled, tiredly. “They haven’t lost yet.”

  ***

  Charity pressed her lips tightly closed when the first dragon plummeted from the sky, wrapped in a haze of green-yellow magic. It struck the ground, let out a final blast of fire and died. The rider was crushed under its enormous bulk. Five more dragons died in quick succession, one managing to land on the walls before the magic holding it together vanished, leaving it nothing more than a dead carcass. Two more followed their comrades into death before the riders jerked back, evading a handful of pursuing spells.

  “They killed my dragons,” the Emperor said. He sounded shocked, as if he couldn’t imagine something powerful enough to kill a dragon. Light Spinner had done it, but she’d had the collected raw magic of the Golden City at her disposal. Ida … shouldn’t have had any sorcerers of her calibre. “They killed my dragons!”

  “Yes, Your Supremacy,” Charity said, heedless of the dangers. He could beat her, or humiliate her, or even kill her, but she’d never forget what she’d seen. “They killed your dragons.”

  The Emperor clenched his fists. “Send in the archers,” he ordered, tightly. “And order the advancing columns to pick up the pace!”

  “Yes, Your Supremacy,” General Vetch said.

  Charity turned her gaze back towards Ida … and the circling dragons. Knawel Haldane and Falcone’s Nest had been made of wood; their walls had been stone, but everything from their guardhouses to residencies had been made of wood. The dragons hadn’t had any difficulty barbecuing everything in sight, laying waste to entire cities. But Ida was made of stone, stone that had probably been charmed to repel fire. There was very little for the dragons to burn.

  Save for the people, she thought, as the secondary columns started their advance. They could still die when fire roasts them to a crisp.

  But the Emperor had been knocked back on his heels. She took heart from that, if nothing else. There were spells that could be turned against dragon …

  “And order Roth to select a new martyr,” the Emperor ordered. “If they think they can fight me, they can burn.”

  ***

  “Arrows,” someone shouted. “Duck!”

  Elaine ducked down as a flight of arrows shot over the wall, one of them striking a soldier who hadn’t been quick enough to take cover. He staggered, then fell off the battlements and down into the city. Johan landed next to her, using his magic to shield them both. He felt torn between excitement and fear …

  “Cast protective wards,” she called, lifting her wand. It would drain her badly, but there was no choice. The archers could force the defenders to keep their heads down until the dragons and infantry reached the walls. “Don’t let them keep us down.”

  “I can help,” Johan muttered, as she carefully stood up. An arrow smashed into the ward and shattered to splinters. “They’re down there, aren’t they?”

  Elaine nodded as two more arrows struck her protections. The archers had taken up position in the open, as if they expected Ida not to have any archers of their own. That was a mistake, Elaine was sure; she’d seen the archers training earlier, near the murder holes. She eyed the enemy archers carefully, then looked up at the dragons. They were still keeping their distance, even as the infantry advanced. It wouldn’t be long before they reached Ida, despite the cold wind. And then they’d try to storm the gates.

  “Fire,” Tarpon shouted.

  A dozen archers fired as one, hurling a stream of arrows towards the enemy archers. Nine fell at once; the remainder hastily took cover, such as it was. Elaine felt a glimmer of sympathy as the remaining archers were picked off, then frowned as she saw a trio of red-robed men hurrying along the road. The sorcerers might not have her finesse, but they definitely had the power to shield the enemy troops.

  “Now,” Brian ordered.

  A deafening explosion echoed out; moments later, Elaine saw an avalanche that dwarfed the earlier one falling down towards the enemy troops. They didn’t have a hope of escaping, she realised numbly; they were too far from the walls and too far from safety to get clear of the snowfall before it was too late. The tidal wave of snow overwhelmed them, blotting them out of existence and sending their mangled remains falling over the cliff. A handful of archers had taken up position again, protected by the sorcerers, but even they weren’t good enough to stop the avalanche. They died within seconds.

  “Got them,” Johan shouted. “They’re gone!”

  “But we can’t play that trick twice,” Elaine said. She tried to think like Deferens, but ran into the problem that she was rational. In his place, she wouldn’t have launched the offensive at all, because she wouldn’t want to lose so many men. Deferens, on the other hand, believed that all resistance to his rule had to be brutally crushed. “They’ll start a second assault once they know what to expect.”

  She looked back at the dragons. They were still firmly out of range, at least to her; she briefly considered asking Johan to attack them, then dismissed the thought. She had a feeling they’d need his power before too long. Silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the cawing of the birds as they swept over the field, picking at half-frozen corpses before they froze completely. She peered down towards World’s Gate, wondering just what was going through the Emperor’s mind. What would he do now?

  Dread appeared, keeping low as he ran around the battlements. “Grab something to eat,” he ordered, passing them both a roll of bread. “You don’t know when they’re going to attack again.”

  “Maybe we tau
ght them better,” Johan said.

  “I don’t think so,” Dread said. He peered over the battlements carefully, his face darkening as he took in the scene. “The Emperor cannot leave without teaching us a lesson. He’d lose too much face.”

  “It could destroy him,” Elaine pointed out.

  “It’s his mentality,” Dread said. “The whole concept of simply recognising that some mountains are too difficult to climb is beyond him.”

  Johan snickered. “You mean he can’t resist the temptation to stick it into a tempting orifice.”

  “Johan,” Elaine said, although she found it hard to keep herself from smiling. “That’s terrible!”

  “But accurate,” Dread said. “Right now, he’s regrouping and considering his next step.”

  ***

  “Your Supremacy,” General Vetch said. He looked as though he expected to be executed for his failure. “The advance columns have been wiped out.”

  Charity drew in her breath, waiting for the Emperor’s reaction. His face had darkened steadily since the dragons had been forced back, although he hadn’t exploded with rage at her or anyone else. Instead, he’d just sent additional orders to Roth and settled back to watch the archers as they fired arrows into the city.

  “So I see,” the Emperor said. He took a long moment to survey the remains of the battlefield. “But they cannot keep triggering avalanches, can they?”

  “They have already damaged our morale,” General Vetch said. “The conscripts are uneasy.”

  “Make examples of anyone who dares defy my will openly,” the Emperor ordered. He turned to face the General. “Assemble the second-rank sorcerers to accompany the infantry and the archers; they are to protect the advancing men from arrows. The first-rank sorcerers are to mount the dragons and protect them. I want them held in reserve for when we use the ritual.”